Dreams
by Karen-Charlene
Summary: Catherine has a crush, but it's a different kind of crush than the kind she's used to. CSR.


**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI nor the characters.**

**Rating: T.**

**A/N: I don't ship CSR but my beautiful, amazing friend, Taylor, does, and I've promised to write this fic for her. So Wifey, this is for you 3**

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><p><strong>Dreams<strong>

Catherine was standing in the locker room in front of her open locker. The only thing covering her body was a white towel, and her skin was still flushed from the hot shower she had just had. She ran a hand through her long, wet, golden hair, trying to decide what to wear, just as she heard the door to the locker room open. She looked in the direction of the door and saw Sara walking in and locking it behind her. She smiled as Sara walked over to her.

"I missed you today," Sara semi-whispered as she stopped just in front of her with a seductive smile gracing her lips, her eyes wandering over the still slightly wet body covered by the small towel.

"I missed you, too," Catherine whispered back and the two shared a long, passionate kiss. Catherine moaned her appreciation as Sara gently slipped her tongue between her lips and wrapped her arms around her neck. The brunette slowly started opening her towel and…

Catherine's eyes opened and she looked around her bedroom, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. That was when it hit her: it was just a dream. Her eyes shot open wider and she jolted up into a sitting position.

_'What was that?'_

She looked around the room and breathed out a sigh of relief when she couldn't find Sara anywhere.

_'Okay, it was just a dream… but, _why_ did I have this dream?'_

That night, at work, Catherine couldn't stop thinking about the dream she had had earlier. She couldn't concentrate on anything; all she could see in her mind was Sara kissing her and opening her towel.

_'Does this mean I'm gay? No, I couldn't be,' _she thought as she sat in the locker room, staring into empty space. _'I'm not gay. I've been with men my whole life!'_

"A nickel for your thoughts." She suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the doorway. She turned her head to see Sara smiling at her.

_'Oh, God! Am I dreaming again?'_

She had been avoiding Sara all night. Now, they were both alone in the locker room, just like in her dream. Catherine wondered if it was another dream, or if Sara would walk up to her and kiss her, just like she did in the dream, and… why was it turning her on?

She had never felt that way about girls, and age 43 was a little old to find out you're a lesbian. She tried convincing herself that this dream was probably nothing – just another dream – but, for some reason, she just couldn't believe it. She didn't like Sara – not in a romantic way, anyway. Sara has been her colleague and a good friend for close to twelve years. She couldn't just have a crush on her all of a sudden. Could she?

The tingly feeling between her legs told her that the possibility of falling for a woman – and not just a woman, but Sara Sidle – was definitely there. And it scared her.

"You're still here?" Sara chuckled when Catherine didn't answer her first question.

"Huh?" Catherine finally snapped out of her daydream and her head shot up to see Sara smirking at her.

"Where'd you go?" the brunette CSI asked with a grin as she opened her locker and pulled out her bag.

"Uh, nowhere. Just a little disturbed, that's all." Catherine answered absent-mindedly, watching Sara's every move as if it was the most fascinating thing it the world.

"Wanna talk about it?" Sara closed her locker and turned back to face her. "Over a drink?"

_'Why is she doing this to me?'_

Catherine knew this was a bad idea, a very bad one. Getting drunk with the _woman _she was apparently "crushing" on. But the words just flew out of her mouth without asking permission from her brain as she said, "Why not?"

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><p>"You actually had to dive into a dumpster?" Sara laughed as she sipped her drink and listened to Catherine telling her about one of her cases earlier that week.<p>

"It wasn't funny! All the evidence was at the bottom. I had to take, like, three showers and the smell still wouldn't go away!"

This only made Sara laugh harder and Catherine couldn't help but stop her story and just stare at the beautiful brunette in front of her with a dreamy smile on her face.

_'God, she has the best laugh in the world! And she's so beautiful when she laughs… No! Cath, snap out of it! Why do I keep… fantasizing about her?'_

"I'm sorry," Sara said once she had calmed down a little. "I'm just picturing you all covered with garbage. Dirty Catherine Willows… that's a sight I'd love to see." She started giggling again.

_'What was that? Is she flirting with me? No, no way.'_

They sat there in silence for a little while before Sara suddenly downed a shot of tequila and turned to Catherine, tucking a strand of strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear and making her shudder and her breath to hitch at the same time. The woman she had dreamed about; the woman she had been fantasizing about ever since the dream; the woman who she was falling a little more in love with every minute that went by, was touching her.

"You know, I never actually noticed how beautiful you really are," Sara said in her drunken state while running her hand down Catherine's arm and entwining their fingers.

"Sara…"

Before Catherine could add another word, Sara's lips crashed on hers. Taken completely by surprise, her eyes widened and she didn't register what was happening until Sara gently slipped her tongue into her mouth, causing them both to moan quietly into the kiss.

Catherine couldn't believe what was happening.

Sara Sidle was kissing her.

She was sure she was having another dream – one that this time she didn't really want to wake up from – but as Sara placed her hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, she realized it wasn't a dream. It was really happening.

They broke apart when the need for air became too great, both breathing heavily. They looked into each other's eyes – Catherine into Sara's brown ones, and Sara into Catherine's blue ones – and saw the same thing: desire.

Sara was the first one to speak up. "Let's get out of here." Hearing her sultry voice just made Catherine even more aroused and sent shivers up her spine. She feared that if she'd try to talk, only a squeak would come out, so she just nodded instead.

She knew going home with Sara Sidle would be a very bad idea; the worst. She knew it was wrong, but it felt so right.

They got up and made their way outside without saying a word as if nothing had happened. The minute the cab's door closed, however, their lips met again in a passionate kiss and their hands started touching everywhere they could reach.

Catherine led Sara out of the cab and toward her house, their lips never parting. They were both too drunk to think or care about anything and all they could think of was the passion and love they were currently feeling.

They stumbled upstairs, discarding clothes on the way, and tumbled onto Catherine's bed with Sara on top. Catherine wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck, pulling her closer and deeper into the kiss, and Sara's hands started roaming her perfect body as her kisses moved downwards onto her jaw line and neck, her hands moving lower and lower.

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><p>Catherine's eyes opened as the blinding morning light crept through the white curtains into her bedroom. She yawned and stretched slightly before rolling over and draping her hand over the empty spot next to her.<p>

Still not fully awake, she ran her hand over the mattress. Her eyes finally opened when she realized Sara wasn't there. She was lying naked under the white sheet, alone. She sat up and looked around. There was no sign that Sara was – or ever had been – there: the en suite light was off; Sara's clothes and purse were nowhere in the room and the bed was empty. The only evidence she had been there was the smell of her on the white sheets.

Catherine flopped back onto the bed with a sigh.

Sara was gone.

She kept herself from crying. They had spent such an amazing night together, and they had a great connection, so why did she have to leave? Was she regretting it? Catherine knew she definitely wasn't. If she had had any doubts about her feelings toward her co-worker, they were gone now. She knew she wanted her, and she wasn't going to give up so fast.

She wasn't going to lie there hopelessly; she was going to see her, talk to her. It wasn't over.

With that in mind, she got up and made her way to the shower. After taking a long, hot shower, she changed into some tight jeans and her favorite red tank top, and put on some make up; she wanted to look good for Sara.

As she drove to Sara's house, however, she started feeling a little paranoid. What if Sara did regret the night they had spent together? What if she didn't want her after all? What if she was just too drunk and didn't know what she was doing?

Her head was filled with questions and worries that it took her a couple of minutes to realize she had already parked outside of the house. She took a deep breath before getting out of the car and making her way to the front door. She knocked on it and it didn't take long for it to open.

A soft smile formed on her lips as she saw Sara on the other side. She was wearing gray sweat pants and a dark blue tank top, her hair was wet – Catherine figured she had taken a shower not long ago – and she smelled like flowers.

Sara, on the other hand, wasn't smiling and it almost looked as if she regretted opening the door. Her face dropped the second she saw Catherine and she sighed, making the strawberry-blonde's smile disappear and allowing a look of hurt to replace it.

"Look, Catherine, this isn't a good time," the brunette murmured. "I'm in the middle of something-"

"What happened last night?" Catherine interrupted her, causing her to arch an eyebrow at her.

"You don't remember?"

"I do, I just don't get why you fled." She shrugged, hurt showing on her face; she didn't even try to hide it. "Was it that bad?"

"No, of course not. I just… I'm sorry, Cath, I just don't think I can do this."

"You started it!"

"I know, and I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I was drunk and I didn't know what I was doing."

"Come on, Sara, that's a lame excuse. I know you'd gotten drunk before, but it never makes you sleep with another woman unless you want to." Catherine could feel the tears forming in her eyes and she had to try really hard not to let them fall.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Sara snapped, her voice a bit too louder than she wanted it to be. "That's not who I am, I'm not…"

"Neither am I." Catherine cut her off. "But you can't say you didn't feel anything," she said in a softer voice. "I know I did."

Sara just looked down. She did too, but she didn't know what to do about these feelings. She wasn't a lesbian. Was she? She had never been with a woman before, but truth be told, being with Catherine that night, holding her, kissing her, making love to her, felt really good.

"So what are we gonna do?" she asked quietly.

"Let's… let's just take it slowly, okay?" the brunette nodded slowly as Catherine gently cupped her cheek and leaned forward. Their lips met in a tender and loving kiss.

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><p>Catherine's eyes shot open and she instantly sat up in bed, sweat covering her face.<p>

"Damn…" she hissed. She had had another dream about her co-worker.

_'When will these dreams stop already?'_

Looking down, she found her naked body covered with only a thin blanket. She didn't recognize the blanket, though; it wasn't hers. Before she had the chance to register where she was and what was happening, she felt a hand touching her back gently. She spun around and found her brunette co-worker looking up at her with dazed eyes.

"You okay, honey?" she asked. Catherine, however, couldn't find her voice as she looked down at her with wide, horror-filled eyes and an open mouth.

What the hell was she doing in Sara's bed and why were they both naked?

"Come back to sleep." Sara pulled her back down onto the bed and snuggled against her body, leaving Catherine to look down at her shocked.

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><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

**Please tell me what you think!**

**-Zohar.**


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